I wouldn't rule out commercial uses either, though China Mobile is unlikely to recklessly sell sensitive information on its high-end customers, given how much effort it expends to keep them happy.

It's safe to assume that the Chinese government will have whatever access it needs to this information to help with investigations.

China -- and others that sell to China -- cannot take its access to the U.S. market for granted,

China Mobile is actually 31 provinces, and each province has its autonomy and capital expenditures. Often they'll promote their own local brands at the expense of national brands they should be promoting.

All new technologies go through the same hassles before they are mature and stable.

And China Mobile has already built WCDMA test networks in most major cities. They are, in fact, fully functional, just waiting for the license to be granted.